Volume 85, Number 1 (Winter 2017 Issue):

Each issue of the Utah Historical Quarterly is accompanied with rich web supplements that introduce readers to sources, photos, interviews, and other engaging material. These “extras” are located at history.utah.gov/uhqextras.

IN THIS ISSUE

The Utah Historical Quarterly first devoted an issue entirely to architectural history in 1975, with “Toward an Architectural Tradition”; just over a decade later came a second such issue, investigating “Architecture at the Turn of the Century.” The time has come to add to this body of work. In this issue of UHQ, we focus on historic preservation and on place-based history of the built environment.

Historic preservation has a variety of meanings, depending on one’s perspective and experience. In the broadest of definitions, it encompasses the movement to document and save that which is meaningful to our collective history. While to some this phrase may convey the stoppage of time, to others it represents change. Places are not frozen; they are always evolving. The historic preservation process gives us a chance to collectively determine if and how historic places work within the context of a changing built environment. You can’t see historic preservation in a museum. While history is physically present around us every day, it’s part of a temporary museum undergoing permanent change.

Preservation embraces a cross-section of community-based practices and institutions that include historic architecture and archaeology, as well as museums, libraries, and archives, festivals, tourism, and long-lived businesses. Though representing even a thread of all these areas in a special issue would be a challenge, the essays in this issue demonstrate the breadth of knowledge of Utah’s architectural historians and archaeologists, highlighting some of the tremendous
research and writing in the field. The authors’ expertise and the UHQ’s support of this type
of research help generate more public understanding or places that matter. This issue demonstrates the important role of historic preservation in Utah in determining how our state changes for the better when we consider places of meaning—what I refer to in my opening essay as sites of conscience.

Bim Oliver served as a consultant in the documentation of the midcentury development of the University of Utah campus. The years after World War II saw extensive growth in student population, though it took the state twenty-five years to catch up to the demand for greater access and new academic programs. The buildings constructed during those years of development and change are now frequently discussed—and targeted—for demolition. One goal of Oliver’s documentation was to foster greater public appreciation for why these places were built in the first place and how they were used. Although they look different than the older structures forming Presidents Circle, Oliver argues, midcentury, Modernist buildings still deserve preservation.

Given the amount of federally owned public lands in Utah, partnerships between the managing federal agencies, interested stakeholders, lessees of federal property, and the public at large are essential in administering the cultural resources on those lands. Richa Wilson, a Forest Service architectural historian, offers an overview of the evolution of Forest Service architecture in Utah dating to the early twentieth century. She shows how buildings constructed in the state’s forests both reflected and departed from mainstream trends. The changing nature of federal
forest management and policies gave each period distinctive design characteristics that continue to be identifiable today.

In his essay, Thomas Carter, an emeritus professor at the University of Utah, argues that historic
preservationists derive cultural meaning through analysis and drawing. Through this series of artistic drawings, Carter highlights a wide range of building types and forms, architectural styles, and influences in construction. His essay also demonstrates the importance of drawing to historic preservation and how that skill is fading with each generation.

Finally, Sheri Murray Ellis, a cultural resource consultant, details the growth and decline of the Ogden Union Stockyard. This large and profitable facility came to exist largely through the instruments of technology—especially the railroad—and, in the end, newer technologies made the yards obsolete. Today, they are the site of redevelopment efforts.

I want to acknowledge my tremendous appreciation to the authors in this issue and to the UHQ editors for their willingness to produce the issue and persistent, professional guidance to oversee its completion.

Kirk Huffaker, Guest Editor
Preservation Utah

ARTICLES

Becoming More Conscientious of Utah’s Sites of Conscience
By Kirk Huffaker

Modernism on Campus: Architecture at the University of Utah, 1945–1975
By Bim Oliver

Building the Forest Service in Utah: An Architectural Context
By Richa Wilson

Studying the Unstudied: Utah Drawings from the Western Regional Architecture Program Collection, Marriott Library, University of Utah, 1982–2016
By Thomas Carter

The Last Word in Stockyard Construction: The Rise and Fall of the Ogden Union Stockyard
By Sheri Murray Ellis

BOOK REVIEWS

Leisl Carr Childers, The Size of the Risk: Histories of Multiple Use in the Great Basin. Reviewed by Joseph E. Taylor III

Matthew L. Harris and Newell G. Bringhurst, eds., The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History. Reviewed by Russell Stevenson

Larry Gerlach, Alma Richards, Olympian. Reviewed by Chris Elzey

BOOK NOTICES

Jonathan Foster, Lake Mead National Recreation Area: A History of America’s First National Playground

Photographs by Peter Goin, Essays by Peter Friederici, A New Form of Beauty: Glen Canyon beyond Climate Change

Editors’ Note: Bim Oliver, author of “Modernism on Campus: Architecture at the University of Utah, 1945-1975,” offers here information on mid-century university building plans that never materialized. Through the process of researching modernism at the University of Utah, Oliver compiled a list of quotations that reveal a light, humorous side of university officials–and these are reproduced below. Finally, we offer additional photographs that didn’t make it into the published article.

Projects That Didn’t Materialize

Like many of the buildings in the post-World War II era, Merrill Engineering was constructed in phases.

The building that exists constitutes the first three phases of the project, completed in relatively short order starting in the late 1950s. But the original concept for the engineering center also envisioned both a circular auditorium and a six-story classroom building. The former was dropped early on, but the classroom building remained an integral part of the center’s design as “Phase IV.” It was never constructed, however, due to lack of funding. Image 3

As the Olpin Union was nearing completion, the Campus Planning Committee contemplated the construction of a “campanile” (bell tower) in the open space just south of the new building. “The campus badly needs some symbol indicative of education that will complete the triangle within the city,” the committee observed in 1958, “i.e., the capitol dome represents State government, the temple, religion and perhaps a campanile to represent education, and which can be plainly seen just as the other two elements are.” Although the campanile was never built, the Social and Behavioral Sciences Building eventually served as the landmark envisioned by the committee. Image 4

The bookstore today occupies the same site that it occupied in the years following World War II. Busy as it is today, it was considered of secondary significance by university planners. More to the point, they felt that its location was better suited for “a heavy use faculty, administrative or academic use.” So they considered two primary alternatives: a new building north of the Union and a structure between the Union and Orson Spencer Hall, “designed as an underground facility, with the floor level approximately the same as the level of the major academic mall.” Due to funding limitations, however, neither was constructed.

As noted in the related article, the primary funder of Pioneer Memorial Theater, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, asked the architects to draw up plans for Pioneer Memorial Theater as a structure that replicated the Salt Lake Theater that had been located downtown for several decades. An early drawing shows this replica that was later dispensed with in favor of a more Modernist design that better accommodated the technical requirements of the theater. Image 5

There were other proposals—some conceptual, some refined—that would have significantly changed the character of campus:

Two campus planning maps from 1959 and 1960 showed the library as an octagon and a circle, respectively, rather than the square that exists today. As the design was finalized, administrators suggested etching inspirational quotations into the cast-stone panels that enclosed the library, an idea rejected by the architects.

Early site plans and renderings of the plaza to the east of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Building envisioned an elaborate fountain.

An architect’s rendering of the Eccles Health Sciences Library included an expansive plaza between the library to the east, the Medical Center to the north, and the College of Pharmacy to the south.

Options for the medical towers and townhouses south of the Medical Center included the use of Sunset Tower (recently completed at 40 South 900 East), as well as a much larger complex on the current site that would have incorporated a varying configuration of high rises and lower “garden type” apartments.

In the late 1960s, as the university sought to increase its supply of married student housing, planners considered developing over 200 units at the mouth of Red Butte Canyon.

A primary goal during the post-World War II era was to concentrate academic buildings near the center of campus. One concept considered for achieving this goal was to construct two 14-story structures—one for the Chemistry Department and one for the Physics Department. As one planner noted, however, “Shoehorning two such units into that restricted area would be most difficult, as well as visually unpleasant.”

Early renderings and models for the Medical Center, Special Events Center, College of Pharmacy, and Physics Building reflect significantly different design ideas than those that were actually constructed.

Humorous Quotes from Author’s Research Notes

“This will be a place where future wives will be trained on how to turn out the hash without burning it.” (W.J. O’Connor, chair of the Board of Regents, at the October 1951 groundbreaking for the Sterling Sill Home Living Center)

“At an earlier date, I received a memo from you posing the hazard that the rocks to the east of the Union Building and Orson Spencer Hall could be if we were to have a riot on campus.” (Memo from B. Blain Bradford to Bruce H. Jensen in July of 1970)

“Most people would agree that the fountain (Tanner Fountain across the plaza from the library) seems to be attracting the ‘undesirable’ hippie type clientele who are oftentimes quite dirty and unkempt.” (Memo from J Elroy Jones in July of 1970) Image 1

“Dean Hiner (College of Pharmacy) said his faculty could get along with anybody; however, if it (the site for the new College of Pharmacy building) went to the Medical Center he wanted it understood that his profession was a dignified profession and was not to be browbeaten by the Medics.” (Memo from Martin Brixen in March of 1958)

“Since the development of married student housing will cut out about four holes on the golf course, it was decided that detailed plans should be drawn up as quickly as possible in order that it could be explained to the Fort Douglas Club people.” (Minutes of the Planning Committee in August of 1956)

Avard Fairbanks first dean of the College of Fine Arts (reacting to the emergence of Modernist ideas on campus): “The corruption of art students’ principles stems from being exposed to foreign art manglers, the subversive doctrine of [-]isms, Communist-inspired and Communist-connected. These influences have one boasted goal: the destruction of our cultural tradition and priceless heritage.” (quoted in Anne Palmer Peterson. Years of Promise: The University of Utah’s A. Ray Olpin Era,1946-1964. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, 2009.)

Volume 85, Number 4 (Fall 2017 Issue):

Each issue of the Utah Historical Quarterly is accompanied with rich web supplements that introduce readers to sources, photos, interviews, and other engaging material. These “extras” are located at history.utah.gov/uhqextras.

IN THIS ISSUE

Utah is often known as the Crossroads of the West, and, however overused that name may
be, it’s an apt term to describe the state’s cultural and geographic position in the American
West. A crossroad is a place of intersection, but it also is “a central meeting place” or “a crucial
point especially where a decision must be made.” For Native peoples in the Great Basin
and the Colorado Plateau, a web of migration and trade routes contributed to an exchange
of people, goods, and ideas. Since Dominguez and Escalante’s expedition in 1776–1777, these
groups had to deal with how the arrival and ambition of Europeans and Americans shifted
the dynamic of power in the region. Missionaries, explorers, trappers, and overland migrants
passed through, and in some cases lingered, on the way to somewhere else. When Latterday
Saints decided on the eastern edge of the Great Basin as the place to plant their settlements,
the land had already been traversed by generations of Native peoples, as well as by
entrepreneurial trappers who relied on indigenous knowledge and who brought concrete
cartographic knowledge of the American Far West. Faint mule trails, wagon ruts, and even
the course of modern transportation corridors constitute evidence etched into the landscape
of generational movement and travels.

The post–Civil War era saw a dramatic rise in transportation technology in the West, as
railroad lines spanned the continent. Railroad men and financiers—not to be outdone by one
another—pushed lines into territories where demand had not yet coalesced. Their large corporations,
which were heavily subsidized by the American people, came to symbolize the
grandeur of the age and American progress itself. Utahns needed railroads in the same way
they needed other technologies like irrigation to move water about the landscape. For Mormons,
the arrival of the transcontinental line in 1869 signaled the loss of political and economic
hegemony in the Great Basin. Other lines soon followed, and no history of the state or region
is complete without following them—a veritable spider web showing prominent nineteenthcentury
destinations. Since railroads needed water and fuel, stations and towns cropped up
in part to provide that service. Other communities serviced the trains, some of which had a
striking impermanence on the landscape. But the threads of connection created by railroads
had a more lasting impact. Transcontinentals and the lines they inspired became part of a
network that helped to connect Utah and the American West with the rest of the country and
the neighboring nations of Canada and Mexico.

If railroads became the major arteries of the West’s nineteenth-century transportation
system, roads provided the connective tissue. Roads follow preexisting routes. Like water,
they tend to follow the easiest path—through valleys, canyons, and low-level mountain
passes—although some Utah routes cross the roughest terrain imaginable. They facilitate
movement, curating how one travels across the landscape just as an exhibition curates historical
information. Most roads are fixtures; others have outlasted their original economic or cultural
purpose and have been reclaimed by the land. Before becoming a physical presence on
the land, roads existed in imagination, revealing much about how generations, then and now,
thought about the land and acted on it. As such, roads, like railroads, are cultural sponges—artifacts
of earlier times. They are similar to what Wallace Stegner wrote of Dinosaur National
Monument in eastern Utah, as “a palimpsest of human history, speculation, rumor, fantasy,
ambition, science, controversy, and conflicting plans for use”—as “marks of human passage.”

Thinking about these “marks of human passage” is the design of this issue, a reprint of four exceptional essays previously published in the Quarterly. We begin with Dale L. Morgan’s lively essay “Utah before the Mormons,” originally delivered as a keynote address at the 1967
annual meeting of the Utah State Historical Society and subsequently published in the January
1968 issue. Morgan plays with time scale “to translate historical time into terms we can individually
find meaningful” by tracing the events prior to the Mormon’s arrival in 1847 by using
1967—the year of his address—as a baseline. We can play the same game: Morgan delivered the
keynote half a century ago, a longer time span than any of the major events he describes between
1805 and 1847. But the first half of the nineteenth century is chronicled here by one
of the West’s accomplished and knowledgeable authorities, who provides a sweeping evaluation
of the people, groups, and ideas that made an imprint on the region that became Utah. That world of explorers, trappers, and overland emigrants was marked by constant movement.

Our next selection comes from the pen of Robert Utley, an acclaimed historian of the
West. “The Dash to Promontory,” published in April 1961, is the product of a different kind of
“dash” in the years leading up to the centennial of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad:
the effort of the National Park Service, with the help of assiduous locals such as Bernice
Gibbs Anderson, to establish the significance of the Golden Spike site for its eventual
inclusion to the National Park System. Utley’s reflection on Promontory is followed by Doris
R. Dant’s “Bridge: A Railroading Community on the Great Salt Lake,” published in winter
1985. Dant, formerly an associate professor of linguistics at Brigham Young University, paints
a rich portrait of life in a town that owed its sole existence to the railroad. Like other forms
of movement, the community’s lifespan on the Great Salt Lake was short lived, and as we see
from Dant’s postscript, the town and its history now exist only in memory.

Another classic essay reprinted here is “Nine Mile: Eastern Utah’s Forgotten Road” by Edward
Geary, published in the winter 1981 issue. His familiarity with the locale and, like Dant,
his considerable literary talents combine to make a pleasurable read: part history, part personal
history, Geary’s article blends the canyon’s regional history with the experiences of
his own grandfather driving the rough canyon road a century earlier. One virtue of the essay
is the sense of place, Geary’s attention to Nine Mile as “one of the most colorful and little-
known areas in Utah” that “does not quite belong to any of the state’s usually recognized
regions.” This canyon, he argues, was central to the region’s development even though modern
infrastructure and memory have obscured that fact.

Our final offering is a new selection on a welcome subject, the archaeology of the transcontinental
railroad grade in Box Elder County, Utah, and especially the evidence of Chinese
rail workers. “Rolling to the 150th” explores the story of Promontory after the driving of the
Golden Spike on May 10, 1869, and the archaeological efforts to reconstruct the area’s past
in anticipation of the sesquicentennial of 1869. In so doing, this article provides a fascinating
coda to Robert Utley’s prelude to the events of May 1869.

The classic articles reprinted in this issue are nearly verbatim reproductions of their originally
published forms, with only minor necessary editorial changes. The major difference is
with images: some are duplicates; others are new, from our collection. We are pleased that
each piece is followed by a postscript either from the authors or, in the case of Dale Morgan’s
essay, from Richard L. Saunders, dean of the library at Southern Utah University and the
foremost scholar of Morgan’s life and work. We thank Bob Utley, Ed Geary, and Doris Dant for
returning to their essays after many years and offering commentary to a new generation of
readers.

These essays offer a sampling of the work published in the Quarterly over the years and remind
us of important themes that have graced the journal’s pages. It’s appropriate to return
to them a second time for inspiration, for, as the postscripts suggest, these articles still have
something to offer. From them we have case studies that show how attention to movement
and transportation in Utah history offers a sweep of topography and terrain—the physical
space—and of systems and networks that originated in the nineteenth century. On a more
granular scale, the concept of movement allows us to reflect on experience and memory: from
one man’s experience nearly freezing to death on a freight run through Nine Mile Canyon to a
woman’s memories growing up surrounded by the sights and sounds of diesel engines.

The essays are only a start, a few selections from the region’s nineteenth-century history.
The possibilities inherent in the ideas of movement and transportation potentially force us
to reconsider Utah history. The centrality of movement to exploration, industry, and travel—
major themes in Utah history—is obvious. Less so is the way movement can be seen on a more
conceptual level as a way to evaluate change over space and time: the variation and transformation
of the landscape, the flow of ideas and people into and out of the state, the mobility
of groups and individuals, the development of transportation-related infrastructure, and the
transportation and communication networks connecting the state to regional and national
systems. The flow of ideas and people is now more global than ever before, rendering traditional
boundaries that confined physical movement less operable.

We hope that intimate stories of movement and transportation, combined with attention
to broader trends and analysis, will continue to be shared. This issue marks the Utah State
Historical Society’s commitment to this theme, culminating with the 66th Annual Utah History
Conference to be held September 27–28, 2018. This is both a call for papers and a call
for community recognition of the centrality of transportation and movement to Utah and the
western region.

CLASSIC REPRINTS

Utah Before the Mormons (Winter 1968)
By Dale L. Morgan. Postscript: Dale Morgan and the Elements of Utah History, by Richard Saunders

The Dash to Promontory (April 1961)
By Robert M. Utley. Postscript: The Golden Spike and Me, by the author

Hosted by Fort Douglas Military Museum. Battle or massacre? Historians still debate the events of that cold winter day in January 1863 when soldiers from Camp Douglas attacked a village of Shoshone on the Bear River near the Utah-Idaho border. Follow the route of the soldiers as the marched north from Camp Doulas and walk the site of the actual battle. An informative and thought provoking day exploring Utah’s historic past.

**Please note that a separate paid registration is required for this tour and is not part of the free conference. Please call 801-581-1251 or email admin@fortdouglas.org to register. (TOUR IS FULL, NO MORE REGISTRATIONS ARE BEING ACCEPTED)

At State History, we’re all about helping you conduct professional or personal research in a quick, efficient manner. We know that you want to find what you’re looking for so you can move on with your research. Check out some of our most popular research tools and resources:

History

Publications Search – online access to all of State History’s publications, including back issues of Utah Historical Quarterly, all twenty-nine county histories, and the full set of Beehive History, Utah Preservation, and other periodicals

We sometimes receive research requests and inquiries from press officers, historians, researchers, public and private organizations, and interested citizens. Although we cannot devote a great deal of time to these inquiries, we are happy to direct individuals and organizations to salient resources. On occasion, we are able to provide more involved research assistance. Let us know how we can assist by contacting:

When information from our collections or from our editors is published or otherwise used in print or online, please use the source/courtesy line: Utah State Historical Society and/or Utah Historical Quarterly. Please also refer readers to our homepage: uhq.utah.gov.

Historical Resources for Grade School Students (see also Utah History Day)

Thank you for contacting Utah State History. The standard seventh-grade school text on Utah history is The Utah Journey, published by Gibbs Smith. For even younger students, we recommend State History's website “I Love History” (ilovehistory.utah.gov) as an engaging resource for Utah history. A fun book for kids is Will Bagley and Pat Bagley's This is the Place: A Crossroads of Utah's Past (2001). High-school and college students would benefit from Thomas G. Alexander's Utah, The Right Place (2003). An interesting blog on Utah history, suitable for 4th and 7th grade-age students, is “The Mystery of Utah History”. The blog's creator, Lynn Arave, was for many years a reporter for the Deseret News.

For additional resources, we highly recommend consulting State History's homepage for a number of good links and resources (http://heritage.utah.gov/history/research-history). If you are interested in specific topics, events, or people in Utah history, visit “Utah History To Go” and our digitized collection of the Utah Historical Quarterly and other Utah State Historical Society publications at uhq.utah.gov.

The Division of State History is proud to operate Utah History Day, the National History Day affiliate for Utah students in grades 4-12. History Day brings history to life for kids by giving them the tools to become amateur historians. Kids learn how to do real historical research, then create a final project that showcases their work. Projects are judged in a series of competitions that culminate in annual state and national contests. Visit our website (Utahhistoryfair.weebly.com/research-resources.html) for history resources helpful to kids working on their projects. To contact the state coordinator, email utahhistoryday@gmail.com.

The Gardo House in about 1892, when the home was occupied by the Keeley Institute.

In 1916, Harry Shipler, commissioned to photograph the Gardo House, produced sixty images of the house's interior and exterior. Here is his photo of a table set for sixteen in the dining room. His photos here and on the next pages illustrate the elegance and opulence for which the mansion was famous.

The front hallway, looking toward the doors of the entry vestibule. Note the fine leaded glass windows and elaborate black walnut staircase with its octagonal newel post. In reporting the demolition of the house in 1921, the Deseret News explained that these elements were to be salvaged from the house, but if they were saved, what became of them is unknown. Shipler photo.

The Drawing Room (or Main Parlor), looking toward the Music Room.

The Steinway piano, nicknamed the Aida, decorated with scenes from Verdi's famous opera. Shipler photo.

Shipler identified this room as the Den. On the author's floor plan it is labeled as the "Conservatory" and is looking toward the "Fountain House." The furnishings and decor in this room reflect the popularity of exotic Middle Eastern styles among wealthy Americans in the early part of the century.

The Library (or Office)

The Hallway on the second floor. (Note the photographs of Indians exhibited on the wall. The Holmeses were participants in the popular twentieth-century fascination with fading Native American cultures.)

The Billiard Room in the basement of the house, furnished with a billiard table and a card table.

Mr. and Mrs. Holmes relaxing in the shade of the southwest porch in July 1916.

The interior of the Art Gallery was lit by large skylights, leaving wall space for exhibiting the Holmeses' art collection. The gallery also included a small stage for performances. Note the large portraits of Susannah and Colonel Holmes on the wall at the left. The exterior view shows the gallery from the north side.

The Red Cross moved into the Gardo House in 1917. At the opening reception, Governor Spry delivered a speech from the front porch.

A large flag hung from the tower of the Gardo House during World War I when the Red Cross occupied the mansion.

A shipment being loaded in front of the Juvenile Instructor office on South Temple, 1914; the LDS Church Historian's Office, the Gardo House, and the Alta Club can be seen in the background.

Looking across the front lawn of the Gardo House toward the Hotel Utah, July 1916; the LDS church offices on the right were still were still under construction when this photo was taken.

Construction on the new Federal Reserve Bank, which replaced the Gardo House, in 1926. The commercial district of the city had grown and ultimately swallowed up the mansion.

The completed Federal Reserve Bank. The Eagle Gate Plaza now stands on the site.

Utah was the 45th state to enter the United States (January 4, 1896). Today with a population of approximately 2,233,169 (est. 2000), Utah ranks as the 34th most populous state in the United States. 76% percent (2000) of the population lives along the Wasatch front, where resources are most plentiful (Salt Lake, Davis, Utah and Weber Counties).

State Name
The state of Utah is named after the Utes, an American Indian tribe.

The web link below allows access to information about specific cities or locations in Utah, such as elevation, longitude/latitude, roads, zip codes, phone prefixes and related historical information. Satellite images and other geographic information can also be obtained.

Alice the Elephant: Alice was supposedly the first elephant to calve in North America. She first arrived in Salt Lake City around 1918 and resided in the Liberty Park Zoo. She was later moved to Hogle Zoo when that facility opened.

Camp Floyd: The camp was built by troops sent to Utah by President Buchanen as a response to reports of rebellion in the territory. This event would come to be known as the "Utah War." The camp was completed on November 9, 1858 and named after the Secretary of War at that time, John B. Floyd. The camp was located in Cedar Valley near the present-day community of Fairfield. Its name was changed to Camp Crittenden in 1860, and the site was abandoned in 1861 after the start of the U. S. Civil War.

CCC in Utah: The Civilian Conservation Corps was created in 1933 by President Roosevelt as one of his New Deal programs that would help lift the country out of its economic depression. The program ran from 1933 to 1942 and employed more than 22,000 Utah citizens that would have otherwise been out of work. The program also pumped over $52,000,000.00 into the Utah economy. In its nine year run the CCC had 116 camps in the state and these camps performed a variety of tasks. They built roads, bridges, canals and reservoirs. They also worked on soil erosion and fire suppression. For more information

Coon Chicken Inn: The Coon Chicken Inn was a national restaurant chain. The Salt Lake City restaurant was located on Highland Drive and 2900 South. It was opened in 1924 by M. L. Graham and his wife, Adelaide. The restaurant closed in the 1950s. Today, the physical decor of the restaurant would be considered highly offensive.

Donner Party: The Donner Party was originally part of a larger wagon train that crossed the plains in 1846. The wagon train broke into two groups near Fort Bridger and the group led by Jacob Donner and James Reed took the southern route that had been promoted by Lansford Hastings but had never actually been used by wagons. The Hastings route went across the Wasatch Mountains and south of the Great Salt Lake. It proved to be extremely difficult and a number of animals and wagons were lost. By the time the Donner Party reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains they were too exhausted to make the crossing and were caught by early winter snowstorms. Thirty-five people died before rescue parties could arrive in the early months of 1847.

Pinecrest Inn: The Pinecrest Inn was built around 1914--1915 in response to people's demands for comfortable accommodations when visiting the canyon and deciding to stay over night. The area was a popular weekend and holiday retreat for the people of Salt Lake during the early 1900s. The inn was described as having all the modern conveniences of the day. It had about 75 rooms, steam heat, and electric lighting. It also had a large ballroom that was very popular with the inn's guests. The inn was declared a fire hazard in 1949 and sold for salvage according to a Salt Lake Tribune article, dated Feb. 27, 1949. Today, a new Pinecrest Inn sits in the canyon. It was built in 1914 by Wilbur S. Henderson as a private residence and was later converted to a bed and breakfast inn.

John D. Fitzgerald: Mr. Fitzgerald was born in Price, Utah in 1906 and died in Florida at the age of 82. His first published work was titled Papa Married a Marmon. However, he is best known for his series of children's books titled The Great Brain.

Five Largest Cities in Utah: Current Population of Five Largest Cities: The five largest Utah cities and their populations are as follows: Salt Lake City---181,743, West Valley City---108,896, Provo---105,166, Sandy---88,418, Orem---84,324.

Ghost Towns: We normally think of ghost towns as communities that sprang up overnight when lucky prospectors discovered rich ore deposits and then faded away when the market prices fell or the mineral deposits played out. However, this isn't the case for all Utah ghost towns. The town of Iosepa in Tooele County is an interesting example. It was established in 1889 by Mormon converts from the Hawaiian Islands. 1200 acres were purchased in Skull Valley and the Church built homes, a school, and a chapel. The citizens did their best to make Iosepa a success but they had difficulty adapting to the harsh conditions. Water was scarce and farm production was inconsistent at best. Iosepa was also hit by cases of leprosy, which took a number of its residents. The town held few opportunities for young people and many left looking for work in larger cities and towns. Unable to hold onto its residents the town finally collapsed in 1917.

Gilgal Gardens: Gilgal Gardens is located at 452 South 800 East in Salt Lake City. The garden was the creation of Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. and expresses his religious and philosophical beliefs. Mr. Child began the garden in 1945 and continued working on and creating new sculptures for it until 1963. Recently, Salt Lake purchased the garden and made it a city park.

Granite Paper Mill: The mill is located at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon and was built between 1880--1882 by the Mormon church. It was an attempt by the church to end dependence on outside sources for paper. The mill began producing paper in 1883 and could produce up to five tons in a single day. In 1892 the mill was leased to the Granite Paper Mills Company but burned down a year later without ever having reached its full potential. The building never operated as paper mill again, but in 1927 it was partially rebuilt and used for dances up into the 1940s.

Joe Hill: Joe Hill was a Swedish immigrant who came to the United States in 1902. He worked various jobs upon his arrival and became an active member in the labor movement of the early 20th century. He joined the IWW and wrote a number of songs that described the harsh reality of the American laborer. In 1913 he arrived in Utah and began working in the mines of Park City. In 1914 he was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death for the murder of John A. Morrison. His case stirred emotions and caused heated debates but all efforts to save his life were unsuccessful. He died on November 19, 1915.

Johnston's Army: Albert Sydney Johnston commanded the forces that made up the Utah Expedition. In 1857 President Buchanen sent 2,500 troops to the Utah Territory after receiving reports from territorial officials that a rebellion had broken out. The army spent the winter near Fort Bridger and was reinforced by another 3,000 men. The troops entered Salt Lake City on June 26, 1858 and traveled on to a site in Cedar Valley where they established Camp Floyd. Earlier, an agreement had been reached between Mormon leaders and federal officials, which allowed for the creation of this camp and accepted the presence of federal troops in the territory. The outbreak of the Civil War forced the reassignment of the troops and the abandonment of the camp.

Kearns/St. Anne's Orphanage:The Building was constructed through a $50,000 donation made by Mrs. Jennie Kearns in 1899. The building was designed by Carl M. Neuhausen and completed in 1900. It replaced an earlier building that had opened in 1891. The building served as an orphanage until 1953 and then reopened as St. Ann's school in 1955.

Mines: American Fork: American Fork is located in Utah County. Mining began in this area in 1868. The American Fork Mining District was established in 1870 and between the years 1870 and 1876 mining operations in the district produced four million dollars worth of minerals. Silver, lead, and gold deposits were all mined in the district.

Park City: Park City is located in Summit County. The first mining claim recorded in the Park City mining district was the Young American lode in 1869. Park City was incorporated in 1884 after its growth was given a significant push by the development of the Ontario mine. Other mines in the area were the Pinon, the Walker, and the Buckeye. Hard times in the mining industry had reduced economic activity in Park City to a trickle by the 1950s but by the 1960s Park City began to thrive again as it developed into a resort community.

Ophir: Soldiers from Colonel Patrick Connor's command were the first to see the potential mining wealth in this Tooele County location in the late 1860's. After the first mineral deposits were discovered numerous mining claims were established, such as the Silveropolis, Chloride Point, the Antelope, and the Shamrock. Mining wealth brought rapid growth in the 1870s and 80s but as the mining business slowed the town's promising future faded.

Scofield: The Scofield Mine disaster occurred on May 1, 1900. The official death toll was listed at 200 but it was believed to be higher. The explosion in Winter Quarters Number 4 mine was the result of igniting coal dust. The Pleasant Valley Coal Company provided financial assistance to victim's families.

Castle Gate: The Castle Gate Mine disaster occurred on March 8, 1924. 172 people were killed in the Utah Fuel Company's Number 2 mine. Two explosions were caused by open flames in worker headlamps and coal dust, which had not been adequately watered down.

Dream Mine: The Dream Mine was founded by John H. Koyle and is located in Utah County. As a young man, Mr. Koyle became known as someone who could see into the future. In 1894 he had the vision that would lead him to develop the Dream Mine. He believed that a life form not of this earth had come to him and instructed him to open a mine in a mountain to the east of his home. The financial success of the mine was to be spread to others and not used for his own benefit. In his vision he also received all the information necessary to operate the mine. Over time, Mr. Koyle was able to gather enough people who believed in his vision that in 1909 he formed the Koyle Mining Company. His work with the mine caused a conflict with the LDS Church, of which he was a member. He was removed from positions of authority and eventually excommunicated. He died in 1949 without experiencing any success with his work in the mine.

Mormon Mint/Coins: The mint was located in Salt Lake City on the northeast corner of South Temple and Main. It first started producing coins in November 1848. The coins were made from gold that had been brought to Utah from California by members of the Mormon Battalion and other members of the church. The dies were made by John Kay and the stamps were engraved by Robert Campbell. Production stopped in December of 1848 because of equipment problems. Replacement parts arrived and production began again in September 1849 and ran through 1851. The coins were made into $2.50, 5.00, 10.00, and 20.00 denominations. Coins were also produced in 1860. They were made of gold and worth $5.00 a piece. In 1861 Governor Cummings issued an order stopping all future production of coins in the territory.

Ophir: Soldiers from Colonel Patrick Connor's command were the first to see the potential mining wealth in this Tooele County location in the late 1860s. After the first mineral deposits were discovered numerous mining claims were established, such as the Silveropolis, Chloride Point, the Antelope, and the Shamrock. Mining wealth brought rapid growth in the 1870s and 80s but as the mining business slowed the town's promising future faded.

Orchards: The planting of fruit trees and the creation of orchards first began with the arrival of the Mormon pioneers. These men and women planted a variety of fruit trees in order to determine what would grow best for their location. Initially, fruit production was for home consumption only and very little ever made its way into the settlements for sale. It wasn't until the late 1800s and early 1900s that efforts were made to create a system that would turn the growing of fruit into a commercially successful industry. The creation of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station at Utah State University and the State Board of Horticulture are two examples of these efforts. They worked with farmers to improve production technology and set quality standards for fruit sent to market. Due to these efforts Utah saw a dramatic increase in fruit production in the years prior to World War I. The success farmers experienced created problems, however. Overproduction caused a decrease in demand and the industry went into a decline. Orchards disappeared from the Utah landscape and it would take years for the industry to rebound. Counties along the Wasatch Front are the leading fruit producers in the state and cherries, apples, and peaches are the most popular crops harvested.

Park City: Park City is located in Summit County. The first mining claim recorded in the Park City mining district was the Young American lode in 1869. Park City was incorporated in 1884 after its growth was given a significant push by the development of the Ontario mine. Other mines in the area were the Pinon, the Walker, and the Buckeye. Hard times in the mining industry had reduced economic activity in Park City to a trickle by the 1950s but by the 1960s Park City began to thrive again as it developed into a resort community.

Pony Express Riders: The Pony Express began in April 1860 with the intention of carrying mail from Missouri to California in ten days. There were 190 stations along the route and riders rode between 75 and 125 miles. It ended in October 1861 because of heavy financial losses and the completion of a telegraph line to California. A list of riders can be found in the Pony Express Riders Subject File at Utah State Historical Society.

Road Names:
Redwood Road: There are a number of stories surrounding Redwood Road and how it received its name. The most credible appears to be that Redwood road was at first used as a surveying line to lay out plots for the west side of the valley. Redwood stakes were used by the Territorial Surveyor to mark the line.

Everett Ruess: Everett Ruess was a young artist that disappeared in Southern Utah in 1934. He had made a number of trips alone through the area using the surrounding environment as inspiration for his art. However, something happened on his last trip and a mystery was born. His burro was discovered in early 1935 and a possible campsite has also been uncovered.

Salt Content and Water Level of the Great Salt Lake: The salt content of the lake varies according to how much water there is. The average elevation of the lake is 4,200 feet. It reached it highest recorded elevation in 1986 at 4,211.85 feet and its lowest in 1963 at 4,191 feet.

Salt Lake Theatre: The theater was built in 1861 on the northeast corner of
State Street and First South. The main architect was William H. Folsom. The
theater served a number of different functions in the community. Stage
productions, political conventions, and formal dances were all held inside its
walls. The building was demolished in 1928.

Grand Theater: The theater was located at 121 East 2nd South. The name was
later changed to the Hippodrome. Fire destroyed the building in the 1920s.

Women's Suffrage: The Utah Territorial Legislature granted women the right to vote in 1870. However, in 1887 that right was taken away with the passage of the Edmunds-Tucker act by the U.S. Congress. Utah women were very active in the suffrage movement and in 1889 they formed their own organization which had ties to the National Woman Suffrage Association. In the mid 1890's with statehood on the horizon Utah women began to see positive results from their efforts. In 1894 they were able to pressure both the Democratic and Republican parties into taking favorable positions in their party platforms concerning suffrage. In 1895 they set their sights on the Constitutional Convention. Many of the leading women in the movement had connections to important religious and community leaders and with their support they were able to convince enough of the convention delegates to include a section in the Utah Constitution returning the right to vote to the women of Utah.